Classic Camera Reviews

When applied to humans, the word “character” has two distinct meanings, an oddball or eccentric as in “Fred is a real character” or a morally upstanding person, as in “Charlie is a man of unimpeachable character.” When it comes to machines created by humans, the word “character” conveys a slightly different constellation of meanings, hovering somewhere between “having lovable defects” like an old Model T Ford, and expressing a distinctive personality, like a classic Ferrari.

You’ve seen it in films and on television: the spy breaks into the villain’s office, removes a tiny camera from his jacket pocket and begins shooting pictures of secret plans.

Photographer Josef Sudek is called the Poet of Prague because in tens of thousands of luminous images he captured the timeless soul of this city that is known as “The Jewel of Europe.” Sudek ceaselessly photographed the city’s streets, its forests and its atmosphere. But unlike Eugene Atget’s photgraphs of Paris, Sudek’s images transcend place and time and are meditative visions of light itself.

Remember Altman Camera? This year marks the 40th anniversary of Altman’s closing. Why was it important? Because when it closed in May of 1975, Altman’s was the largest camera store in the world. And Altman’s stocked everything. Not just a lot of stuff, everything. 

In the days before digital it wasn’t uncommon for photographers to go out shooting with two or more types of film at the same time. For some, it was to give a choice between color or black and white. For others, it was the need for different film speeds. Short of rewinding a film midway through a roll, removing it and reloading, there were two options: carry more than one camera; or, if your camera took interchangeable lenses, carry a single range of lenses with two or more compatible bodies.

A new show titled A Heritage of Cameras, which shows off some dazzling classic camera models, is currently on view in the Airport Meeting Place of the Lambert St. Louis International Airport until November 30^th.

America did not invent photography—that honor must go to the French—but US camera manufacturers can take credit for introducing simple ways of taking pictures and bringing photography to the masses. Along the way, many also came up with often strange and sometimes ugly designs.